Come on baby Owen!!

Summer nights with our awesome neighbors!

We have been making the most of this summer, making fun memories with Graham and friends, but let's be honest- Owen's upcoming arrival is all-consuming. It's what I think about, pray about, talk about... Owen, we are so ready to meet you!! We really hope we're counting down the hours at this point! My official due date is this Sunday, July 13, but since I went into labor with Graham 5 days early and I've been having a ton of contractions this time around, I have been completely convinced Owen would come pretty early. As always, our kiddos seem to keep us on our toes and remind us that we are not in control. I have been listening to these lyrics over and over and meditating on God's goodness in everything, specifically His timing for Owen's birth. As anxious as I've been, I have to remind myself that ultimately, I want Him to pick O's birthday, not me. He is smarter than me and beyond good to me, which does bring peace.

My God is a Giver, an overflowing river
Pouring His lavish love on us
Season after season we give Him every reason
To stop but He never does

Ohhhh the goodness of God is flooding my heart with peace
Ohhhh the goodness of God is bringing me to my knees

4th of July festivities!
Neighborhood block party & the zoo.

Love these girls!

Remodel progress- painting the new downstairs bathroom!!!

I will say being 9 months preggo in the middle of summer is not a piece of cake. Overall, this pregnancy has just been overwhelmingly exhausting, but so worth it to bring little Owen into this world. Sweet boy, we want to snuggle you in our arms so bad! Come on out!!

In the spirit of counting down, here's what's been going on the past week or so...

7- The number of people I know who are/ were preggo and due within a week of me! I feel like that's a little crazy! And two of them are in Indy and delivering at the same hospital as me! The rest I have been stalking on Facebook to see if they've had their baby yet... Two have so far. There's something so bonding about being pregnant at the same time as someone else.

6- I got nothing. Running out of creativity and energy.

5- Days ago, Andrew and I had our last date night for a long while. Thanks to sweet neighbors for watching Graham! We went to the Cheesecake Factory on our first date in Indy, the night I told Andrew I was preggo with Graham, and so it seemed fitting to celebrate little Owen's coming arrival there. Plus, we had a gift card. ;) Winning.

Beach ball belly!

4- The batches of Rice Krispie treats I've made in the last week. Yep. Granted several of these were to share with friends, but I definitely helped devour each batch.

Didn't even bother putting these in a pan and cutting them into bars. :/

3- How many cm I'm dilated right now. Actually 3.5... Pretty sure this was about when I arrived at the hospital with Graham, in the most pain of my life, begging for an epidural- stat!!! And here I am, walking around like everything's normal. So weird.
Mostly for my memories, I wanted the following written down somewhere... Sorry if it's TMI.
With Graham, at
37 weeks I was a 0.
38 weeks I was a 1.
And then I had him before my 39 week appointment.

With Owen, at
37 weeks I was a 2-2.5
38 weeks I was a 2.5
39 weeks I am a 3.5
Still waiting...

Finally re-did Graham's life verse
(Joshua 1:9 in the spirit of his name meaning, war-like)
and pretty happy with the result!

2- Number of times I've been in false labor in the last few days. Seriously so disappointing. I didn't have this at all with Graham, so I have been so confused about how my contractions can be so consistent and close together for hours and not turn into anything. Ugh. They were 5 minutes apart for about 6 hours on Sunday, but never intensified in pain or sped up, so my doctor said to wait... So we did, and they eventually faded out. Oh, and all those natural ways they say help encourage the baby to come out? All lies. We've tried it all... several times. Nothing.

1- How many times I've cried over ice cream. People, I am losing my mind! Or maybe pregnancy hormones are real after all. ;) Andrew and I got ice cream one night, and I'd eaten all of mine... So of course I started in on his. After a few bites, he protested, and I burst into tears. Yep. Not my finest moment.

We finally picked a life verse for Owen!
Joshua 23:10-11
His name means "young fighter"
and ultimately we want him to trust God fights for him,
and for him to fight to love God.

Owen, we promise it's way more fun out of the womb! ;) Come join our family!!!

Your big bro can't wait to show you all the fun splash pads in Indy!

Backyard play with neighbors is a staple summer activity.

You have the best dad EVER who can't wait to play with you!!

Graham can't wait to meet you, little one.
Neither can Mommy and Daddy!!!

38 weeks with Owen & Nursery Progress!

Carseat installed! Can't believe this is my backseat!!

How far along?  38 weeks!! So close to meeting this sweet baby!! My friend Ashley had her baby boy a couple weeks ago, and holding him totally melted me. I cannot WAIT to snuggle my own little Owen in my arms!! At my 37 week appointment, I was dilated 2- 2.5, which was way more than I expected. (I was a 0 with Graham at that point.)

Total weight gain? Gained 28 pounds. I want dessert after dinner every night... and I haven't been very good at resisting. :/

Maternity clothes? Yep. Definitely on top... And normal yoga capris or athletic shorts almost every day.

Sleep? I've just accepted the fact that sleep will not be enjoyable for another few months. At least I'll have a baby to snuggle soon in the middle of the night!!

Best moment this week? The crib coming early!!! Making progress on the nursery! Having energy to "nest." Our sweet friends the Brandts coming in town. Lazy summer nights in the backyard with our neighbors, sharing dinner, good convo, and kiddos playing.

G loves playing with "big kids"...
We love sweet Kuyper and Eva!

Pretty proud of these matching onesies for Graham & Owen.
Learning to sew has been well worth it, but these are tough to learn to master!

Graham at the splash pad. He was drenched a few minutes after I took this. :)

Miss anything? Counting down the days til I can have a turkey sandwich! :) It will be the first thing I order in the hospital. Also just feeling comfortable in my own body and clothes... and being able to hug Andrew tight. 

Movement? Yep. He is strong and active and shoves my belly around everywhere now!

Food cravings? Cereal. Any fruit. Any dessert. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.

Have you started to show yet? I took Graham on a walk today, and a neighbor that I don't know very well was sitting on her porch. Her comment when she saw my belly? "When was your due date? Yesterday?" I know, I know. I'm huge and so ready for this baby to make his appearance!! 

Labor signs? Nope. I thought by this point, I'd be walking 5 miles a day, running up and down the stairs, eating spicy foods, etc, etc... whatever it would take to help this baby decide to come on out. But since I've had energy lately and actually been able to get some stuff done, I've been taking it easy and just trying to accomplish a few more things before he's born! I think I'll start doing all that stuff around 39 weeks now. ;)

Symptoms: Contractions. Some have been uncomfortable/ crampy lately, but nothing bad. Lately Owen has been stomping on some sensitive nerve in my upper right leg. It's shockingly painful but only lasts for a second each time. I had some back pain and acid reflux/ heartburn with Graham, but I've barely had any of that this time around, which has been awesome!

Belly button in or out? Out. Ew.

Wedding ring on or off? On. 

Happy or moody most of the time? Feeling much happier now that the remodel is contained and close to being completed, and I am able to get some stuff done with normal-ish energy.

Name possibilities? Owen!!!

Looking forward to? I can't believe I'm about to meet this sweet thing!!!! Will he look like Graham? What kind of baby will he be? How will Graham react? How will he nurse? How will I juggle two? I can't wait to start our new normal as a family of 4!

And now, some nursery progress updates... We still have several things I want to do/ finish, but here's what we got so far...

We moved the changing table out of G's room and
into the hallway so the boys can share.

The crib came in today!!
The hubs set it up and we are ready to go!
Pretty proud of the banner I sewed too. :)

We are leaving the double bed in the nursery
 so family and friends can still come stay with us.

Graham never even really liked being rocked that much,
but I was so sad to take the glider out of G's room and move it into Owen's!
Graham's room is becoming more boyish instead of babyish, even though he's still 19 months and in a crib. ;)
Can't wait to rock sweet Owen in this!

Dresser we recently bought from sweet friends.
Debating on if I should paint it white or navy?
Still decorating the shelves on top, but they so far include framed Pinterest printables,
"LOVE you" and "Be brave, little one", plus an ultrasound pic,
 and a "special book" from one of our sweet neighbor friends
who we love to learn about parenting from!

Closer up.

Owen's hospital bag and Boppy are packed and ready to go!

This will be completed hopefully soon and hung in Owen's room!
I'm waiting on a big navy "O" to dry as I type,
and then I'll paint his life verse at the bottom, I think... 

Crowded closet, but getting organized, so I'm happy!
Little boy will have plenty of clothes!